Intelligence analysts can also use the system to monitor people’s movements and activities by tracking biometric data recorded by troops in the field.īy 2011, a decade after 9/11, the Department of Defense maintained approximately 4.8 million biometric records of people in Afghanistan and Iraq, with about 630,000 of the records collected using HIIDE devices. In addition to biometric data, the system includes biographic and contextual data such as criminal and terrorist watchlist records, enabling users to determine if an individual is flagged in the system as a suspect. Users of these devices can collect iris and fingerprint scans and facial photos, and match them to entries in military databases and biometric watchlists. HIIDE is a single small device that incorporates a fingerprint reader, iris scanner and camera. BAT includes a laptop, fingerprint reader, iris scanner and camera. forces were collecting biometric data primarily through mobile devices such as the Biometric Automated Toolset (BAT) and Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment (HIIDE). military personnel had been trained to collect biometric data to support the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Identity dominance means being able to keep track of people the military considers a potential threat regardless of aliases, and ultimately denying organizations the ability to use anonymity to hide their activities.īy 2004, thousands of U.S. 11, 2001, in her book “ First Platoon.” The Department of Defense quickly viewed biometric data and what it called “identity dominance” as the cornerstone of multiple counterterrorism and counterinsurgency strategies. Investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen documented the birth of biometric-driven warfare in Afghanistan following the terrorist attacks on Sept. Department of Defense’s effort to identify, monitor, catalog and police people in Afghanistan.

Us hiide afghansintercept